Warp beam



H. MENKING Aug. 26, 1947.

'ARP BEA Filed Oct. 25, 1944 INVENTOR. HC/hl McnKinj BY Maw/fa HTTORNEY UNITED@` ySTATES PATENT'i OFFICE y v l f 2,426,464-

WARP BEAM y I v Heinz Menking, Rocky River, Ohio,/as si`gnor to Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pasa corporation of Pennsylvania` d.

Appueanon october z5, 1944, serial 1ro-.560,273

s claims. (ci. 242-120'Ik This invention relates to metal warp beams and has particularreference to those made of light metals such as magnesium or magnesium base alloys.

Warp beams, as understood by those skilled in the art, refer to the large spools used in weaving mills, being iilled in warpers with yarn from creels and discharged in the slasher, from where the yarn is rewound on loom beams or discharged directly onto loom beams. A form of warp beam known as section beams is also employed as Aa convenient shipping holder for tirev cord yarn from which the yarn is distributed to the twisters. Another type of warp beam. also known as tricot warp spool, is used in the warp knitting industry and for shipment of rayon yarn to` the knitting mills. These beams for many years have been made of wood because of the relatively light weight of this material and the ease with which it can be shaped. With increasing de-A niands'for speed and precision in operation .and

with the introduction of finer and more delicate *textih iiberait' has been found that the woodenI lbeams are inadequate from the standpoint ofv strength, stlness, and permanence-of dimensions. Flirthermore, in loading a beam, some.

synthetic yarns stretch ,elastically under the tension applied to them with the result that a great crushing force is exerted on the barrel-of the beam after the yarn has been wound upon it. Also, some yarns exert a high pressure on the heads of the beams, this pressure being sumcient in some cases to deform, if not break, the

heads if the beams are nearly orcompletely filled.

For this reason wooden beams can only be partially lled with such synthetic yarns in general v practice. Moreover, the wooden beams are subject to warpage, cracking, and splintering under the temperature and humidity conditions encountered in textile mills. The deformation induced by the yarn load and the natural warpage of the Wood is especially objectionable because it destroys the initial dynamic balance of the beams with resultant adverse eiect upon their quality and speed and damage to yarn and the whole machine.

Attempts have been made to overcome 'the foregoing deficiencies by reinforcing the' wooden beams or substituting metal for the wood as structural material. While reinforcement of the wooden beams has increased their strength, it

has not eliminated the inherent deilciencies of wood mentioned above. On the other hand, metal beams substituted for the wooden productsv have possessed greater dimensional stability but have .been either too heavy for. high lspeed operation or yhave had certain structuralv fea- -tures which led topremature failure.' Furtherused at suchihigh speeds, such wooden or metal beams develop bad vibrations. .A l

One of .the ,particular defects associated with the construction and performance of warp beams, ,especially` section beams. has been the problem ofvproviding a light weight, yet strong.

jointxbetween the' barrel and the beam heads. One of the common constructions employed in makingjsmalljmetal vbeams ihasheen to use cast -headshavinganannular ange or collar extendvingrinwardly/over which the beam barrel is pressed orr telescoped, and the two'parts. are

riveted, bolted, or weldedtogether. This arrangementen a large nieam, however, is open tothe objection that Aan integrally castJcollar on the head `gives rise to a concentration of stresses at the place vwhere the collar joins the head,` and failure "at this point sometimes occurs. Toovercome/this deficiency. in strength, it wouldbe` necessary to increase the thickness of the collar and enlarge the llets between the collar and the head, thus increasing the `'weight of the beam. Furthermore, with the integrally cast --collar construction it isl difllcult to obtain a very tight vjoint between the heads and the barrel where this is necessary'or desirable. In other designs of beams no collar vof any kind is; provided, the heads being directly -attached to the barrel by bolts or other suitable mechanical means. With the foregoing deficiencies of beams iny mind, I have devised a new type Yof joint which is easy to form and maintain.

"One of the primary obiects of my invention is to provide ametal warp'beam in which the joint between the heads and barrel is strong.

tight, and light of weight. A further object is'` to` provide a joint between the heads and barrel of a warp beam which can be easily made in commercial production. provide' a light, strong warpbeam made ofv a light metal, especially magnesium hase alloys. Yet another object is to minimize harmful concentration of stress between the barrel `vand the heads. A particular object is to provide a light Y metal section beam in which the heads can be drawn up against the barrel to form a tight joint Stili another object is tol and .l l I" 3 leaving no crevice in which the yarn might be caught.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out below and in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings showing a preferred form of my invention:

Fig. l is a sideelevation. partially `in section,

of a complete section beam;

Fig. 2 is a cross section online II-II of Fig. l;

Fig. 1. consists essen- 4 a casting made of the same alloy as the heads. has internal reinforcing ribs 23 symmetrically spaced around said collar and parallel to the axis of the barrel with intervening valley sections 22 between the ribs, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 2, the ribs being properly proportioned to provide an anchorage for stud bolts l5 in holes 25. The ribs also strengthen the ends of the barrel and thereby increase its load bearing capacity. The collar 2li preferably extends into the barrel past the uniform reduced section i9 with a suitably tapered contour to correspond to the transition in wall thickness of the barrel from the reduced to the'full section, and thus provide ample reinforcement of the barrel near the ends. The ribs do not extend over the full veniently in cast form while the barrel may be y lan extrusion. The heads consist of a disc portion having a peripheral flange 3 preferably protected against injury and wear by a band of a harder metal 5, such as iron. The head has radial ribs 1 uniformly spaced about the head,

extending from the central portion thereof to the peripheral flange 3, and ribs '8 extending fromy said portion to the hub 9 on the opposite side of the head. The steel shaft Ii, held in place by nuts, supports the beam when in use, but is not relied upon to hold theheads against Ithe barrel. This shaft may be replaced by a separate stub shaft or g'udgeon pin in each head. Holes I3 are provided in the heads a short dis tance from the hub through which pass stud bolts I5 that' carry nuts for securing the heads to the collars 20 which are positioned at each end of the barrel. Any suitable magnesium base alloys may be employed for making the heads,

collar, and barrel, a satisfactory casting alloy f v being one nominally containing 9 per cent aluminum, 2 per cent zinc, and 0.2 per cent manganese. Castings made of this composition should receive a conventional heat treatment and be quenched in known manner to develop a high strength. An alloy adapted for extrusion is one which nominally contains 3 per cent aluminum, 1 per cent zinc, and 0.2 per cent manganese.

To provide an accurate flt'between barrel and collars the interior of barrel I1 is preferably machined inwardly of theends thereof to form a uniform reduced section I9, which gradually in- -cr'eases to the full wall thickness of the barrel.

to accommodate the collar 20 and facilitate its attachment lthereto. Where the interior of the barrel is thus machined, it is preferable that the reduced section be of uniform thickness for a short distance inwardly of thebarrel ends and that the wall thickness gradually increase beyond said reduced section to the full wall thickness of the barrel. The ends of the barrel are also machined and are preferably beveled outwardly from the internal to the external d1- ameters, thus providing beveled surface I3, as

'shown in Fig. 3. In this figure the acute angle.

formed by beveling` the end of the barrel provides a line contact 3| with the barrel head when they are drawn together. This construction is of particular value where a very tight joint is desired such as that required when certain very fine synthetic yarns are wound upon the beam.

-The heads are joined to the barrel portion of the beam through collars 20, as mentioned hereinabove. The collar, preferably in the form of merge into a solid ring 2l at the inner end of the collar. The ribs do, however, extend over a subl stantial length of the collar. The collar 420 may be attached to the barrel by spot welds 21 in the valley sections 22 intermediate the ribs 23. The reduced thickness of the collar in the valley sections makesv it possible to easily weld or rivet it to thebarrel. To'avoid any buckling or bending of the barrel as it is drawn up to the head, it is highly desirable to have the barrel secured to the collar close to the end of the said barrel. Also to avoid possible interference with obtaining a tight joint between the barrel ends and the heads, the collars should be spaced slightly inwardly of the ends ofthe barrel. One ofthe important advantages of the rib and valley construction of the collar described above is the smaller weight of such a member as compared to the weight of asolid metalring of uniform wall thickness and thick enough to provide adequate anchorage for the st ud bolts. YSuch ya saving in weight in theribbed collar is oi.' particular value in the manufacture of light weight section beams.

In assembling lthe beam, the collars 20 are first secured to the previously machined barrel I'l and stud bolts I5 put in place. The heads are then mounted on the barrel assembly and drawn up by nuts on the stud bolts'to make a'ftight line contact 3i between the'barrel and the'heads. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the collar 20 does not come in contact with the head in the assembled construction but a space 29 is left between them.

By providing this space 2l, aulclent clearance is allowed for drawing -the beveled barrelends against the heads and form a line contact therevenient disassembly of heads and barrel for I n maintenance purposes.

While one embodiment of my invention has been described above, it will be appreciated that other designs may be made which embrace the principles of my invention and which produce the same result.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A metal warp beam comprising two heads, a barrel portion, and a collar member having integral internal solid ribs therein positioned at each end of the bar rel and in the interior thereof and rigidly secured both to the adjacent head and tothe barrel, the internal solid ribs of said collars being parallel to the axis of .the barrel and 2. A metal warp fbjearn:comprisingv two heads, a

barrel portion; and a collar member having integral internai'solid ribs'therein positioned atv each end of the barrel and in the interior thereof barrel portion, andl a collar member having inand* rigidly secured` both" toY Vthe adjacent head and to the barrel, themternalzsoud knts or said collar members being parallel tothe axisvof the y barrel and extending ,over su .ljsttwhallyl the entire lengthoilthe-jcgllahfmd securedftog'the members at Vthe valleys bey Y tween the internairibs'thereon. 'and the heads being secured to the said collars by screw meansl anchoringwinjhreaded openings in the internalsolidfribs. Y o.

" prising-two headers.

u "liar" member having ir L and to rr the internal solid ribs of said collar. being' parallel togthe "axis 'of the barrel and extending overa .substantial portion 'but noty ,the` entire length,pi'ythe-*collarand merging into a sono ringf at 'th-end 'ftiietrium* opposite to that secured to the beam head, said solid ribs also having threaded ,openingslithereint tnv-*receive 'screw fastening f means fior 'securlngfsaid' heads to :said collars. j ,i

4. A metalvwarp beam'r comprising two heads, a barrel portion, and a cqllarflnember',having integr'al internal Isolid ribs-therein positioned at each end ofthe barrel and in the interior thereof and rigidly secured bothto `the adjacent head land to the barrehthe internal'solid ribs of said collar members being'parallel t`o the axis of the barrel and extending over substantially the entire length of the collar, the ends of the barrel having a section of uniform reduced wall thickness for a short distance inwardly of @the ends :thereof that portiony ofv the length nnibsrreibeing rigidly Y 'therein positioned at` hef-,interior thereof t ,o

he adjacent head f tegral internal solid ribs therein positioned at each end of-the barrel andin the interior thereof :andrigidIyseCuredboth to the adjacent head and to the barrel, the internal solid ribs of said collar members being parallel to the axis of the barrel and extending over a substantial portion but not theentire lengthoi--thecollan and merging into a solid ring at the end of the collar opposite toA that secured to the beam head, the ends of the barrel having a uniform reduced wall thickness 'foraQshort distance inwardly of the ends thereof that gradually increases to the full wall thickness of the barrel inwardly of said section, and the collar members having a length at least equal to y that'of-ther sectionhaving a reduced wall thickf ness, the barrel being rigidly secured to the collar members at the .valleys between the said internal' I ribs and the heads being secured to said collars by screwvmeans anchoring in the said internal solid ribs. f Y Y f Y HEINZ MENKING.

REFERENCES orrEn UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 40, 2,321,084 Howsam et al. June 8, 1943 1,307,526 Tuttle June 2l, 1919 2,096,965 Howsam Oct. 20, 1937 2,304,922 

